Shipping case unloading machine



July 17, 1962 M. M. BYCER ETAL 3,044,542

SHIPPING CASE UNLOADING MACHINE I Filed May 20, 1959 6 Sheets-Sheet 1 July -17, 1962 M. M. BYcER ETAL 3,044,642

SHIPPING CASE UNLOADING MACHINE Filed May 20, 1959 6 Sheets-Sheet 2 lNvENToRS. MAM/H M. mf'f Ja/ew J. HaHa/40a July 17, 1962 M. M. BYCER ETAL 3,044,642

SHIPPING CASE UNLOADING MACHINE Filed May 2o, 1959 e sheets-sheet s July 17, 1962 M. M. BYCER ETAL 3,044,642

SHIPPING CASE UNLOADING MACHINE Filed May 20, 1959 6 Sheets-Sheet 4 INVENTORS.

July 17, 1962 M. M, BYcl-:R ETAL 3,044,642

SHIPPING CASE UNLOADING MACHINE Filed May 2o, 1959 e sheets-sheet 5 July' 17, 1962 M. M. BYCER ETAL 3,044,642

SHIPPING CASE UNLOADING MACHINE Filed May 20, 1959 6 Sheets-Sheet 6 INVENTORS.

M2 JOHN J. #wf/waa BY AMEN for@ ZLN. vg/I Tram/.4K

United States Patent O SHIPPHNG CASE UNLOADING MACHiNE Manuel M. Bycer, Upper Darby, `lohn J. Hohenadel,

Philadelphia, and Albert Sola, Wynnewood, Pa., assignors, by mesne assignments, to The Lodge & Shipley Company, Cincinnati, Ohio, a corporation of Ohio Filed May 20, 1959, Ser. No. 814,477 Claims. (Cl. 214-311) Our invention relates to materials handling equipment, and more particularly relates to a machine for automatically unloading shipping cases, cartons, or trays used as containers for such articles as metal cans, bottles, glass jars and paperboard packages, thereafter discharging the articles and the emptied shipping cases upon separate conveyor means.

In the food process industry, such as -canneries and breweries, it is the practice of the container manufacturer to ship the empty containers to the food processor in the shipping cases in Which the product is to be later shipped to the consumer. The food processor receives these cases with the iiaps thereof, when such is the case, in folded closed but unsealed condition, and stores the shipping cases with the empty containers arranged therein in orderly rows preparatory to filling with the food product in the usual course of business. The empty containers must then subsequently be removed from the cases, cleansed, if necessary, lilled with `the product, closed or sealed, and then be repacked in the same shipping cases. Articles such as empty cans` are frequently packed so that considerable force must be exerted in the direction of their axes to extract them while space is at a premium such as to preclude the entry of tongs or similar devices for gripping them. Moreover, the use of such gripping devices for stripping necessarily required interrnittency of operation so as to be undersirably slow as a result of lifting the articles from the cases or stripping the cases from the articles in a direction substantially perpendicular to the path of travel of the case conveyor. 1

Furthermore, it is not an unusual circumstance for a single food processor to act as a bottler and packager as well as a canner and utilize containers of various sizes and shapes including both cylindrical and crown type metal cans in addition to glass bottles and jars while the shipping cases may also be of the iiap closure type, iiapless tray type or even be provided with an egg-crate nest, the latter to prevent' surface to surface contact of adjacent articles as might cause damage and breakage particularly in the instance of glass containers.

It is, therefore, an object of our invention to provide an apparatus for unloading shipping cases of their empty containers rapidly and continuously.

Another object of our invention is to provide a shipping case unloading device which will remove tightly, as Well as more loosely packed containers, fromvtheir case positively and quickly.

Another object of our invention is to provide a shipping case unloading apparatus which will universally accommodate easily and efficiently open top as Well as tray type nested separator type and/ or flap closure type cases.

Another object of our invention is to provide a shipping case unloading apparatus for discharging empty containers from their shipping cases and delivering the articles in well defined groups for subsequent cleansing, filling and repacking operations.

' Another object of our invention is to provide a shipping case unloading apparatus which Will universally accommodate and discharge cases carrying cylindrical cans, crown top cans, bottles, jars or packages as well as other 3,044,642 Patented `luly 17, 1962 articles without exerting harmful pressure upon or marring the surface of or causing fracture or breakage of the articles.

Another object of our invention is to provide a shipping case unloading apparatus requiring only a single operator in attendance.

Another object of our invention is to provide a shipping case unloading apparatus which will discharge the articles contained in the cases and the emptied cases themselves upon separate paths Without jamming of the cases, the articles, or the apparatus itself during the entire continuous sequence of operations.

Other objects of our invention are to provide an improved device of the character described that iseasily and economically produced, which is sturdy in construction, and which is highly efficient in operation.

The apparatus of the invention broadly comprises a gravity roller type conveyor for the container-filled cases, a' plough or prow to flare open the side and rear end flap of the cases, if such is the construction, after the front end iiap has been manually positioned-below the prow, a substantially semi-circular guideway communicating with the gravity conveyor, a spring loaded stop means r, transversely disposed at the entrance to the guideway,

liight bar means disposed concentric with the guideway and picking up and carrying only one case at a time therethrough, an inclined trackway at the upper portion of the guideway disposed tangentially with respect thereto, a conveyor belt movable at the same velocity as the flight bar means and defining an inner race for the guideway, the conveyor belt exiting horizontally from the guidevvay tangential thereto immediately below the inclined trackway, flap control means to limit the convergence and divergence of the aps of the cases through the guideway and to support the cases on the inclined trackway, spaced rail means in the inclined trackway to restrain nested separators in the cases from being discharged with the contents thereof, and means to reinvert the cases after their contents have been discharged upon the horizontal Vportion of the conveyor belt.

With the above and related objects in view, our invention consists in the details of construction and combination of parts as will be more fully understood from the following detailed description when read in conjunction withthe accompanying drawingin which:

FIG. l is a semi-diagrammatic longitudinaliview 0f a shipping case unloading machine embodying our invention.

FIG. 2 isa front perspective View thereof.

FIG. 3 is a rear perspective view thereof.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along lines 4 4 of FIG. 1.

FIG. S is a sectional view taken along lines 5-5 of FIG. l.

FIG. 6 is a sectional View taken along lines 6--6 of FIG. 1. v

FIG. 7 is a sectional view taken along lines 7-7 of FIG. l.

FIG. 8 is a sectionalV view taken along lines 8---8V of FIG. l.

FIG 9 is a sectional view taken along lines 9-9 ofV FIG. l.

FIG. l0'is a sectional view taken along lines 10--10 modification of our invention for handling nested cases.

FIG. 14 is an exploded perspective view of a deflector assembly for handling non-partitioned cases with flaps.

Referring now in greater detail to the drawings, in which similar reference `characters refer to similar parts, we show a machine for automatically unloading the contents from shipping cases comprising a frame, generally designated as A, a downwardly inclined gravity conveyor, generally designated as B, rotatably supported in said frame, a plow, generally designated as C, supported in said frame for flaring open the side and rear end flaps of cases D entering the machine, a flight bar conveyor, generally designated as E, driving the cases through the machine, and a conveyor belt, generally designated as F, movable with the flight bar conveyor, and defining an inner raceway for the top portion and contents of the cases.

The frame A comprises a pair of spaced side plates 20 and 21 vertically extending from a base 22 and having adjustably mounted therebetween, an inversion guideway G at the lower portion thereof and a reinversion guideway H at the upper portion. The frame A is of heavy gauge steel construction and the interior assembly will handle either cans or bottles permitting changeover from one to the other by a single operator in less than five minutes. As a case D or carton enters the machine at the lower right hand portion of FIG. l as illustrated, it is engaged by the flight bar conveyor E and advanced in a reverse S path defined by guideways G and H. The contents of the cases D, cans, or bottles, are gently deposited in an upright position upon the conveyor belt F at the middle horizontal portion of the machine, as shown in FIG. 1, and the cases are then discharged at the top of the machine.

As is seen from FIGS. l and 5, the gravity conveyor B is of conventional construction and comprises a plurality of idler rollers 23 rotatably supported in side frame extensions 24 and 25. Spaced side guides 24A and 25A longitudinally extend above the rollers 23 upon supports 24B and 25B respectively and maintain the lateral position of the cases D entering the machine. The initial portion of the gravity conveyor may be horizontal as the cases D are received `for handling but is pitched downwardly after the plow C at approximately to 18 at the position shown between the section lines S-S and 6-6 illustrated in FIG. l. Adjustable ground support posts 26 maintain the elevation of the exterior portion of the conveyor B while the interior portion thereof is supported within the side plates and 21.

The plow C, which is used in conjunction with the manual opening of the cases flaps, is suspended from the frame A disposed centrally above the conveyor B and spaced therefrom above the ground support posts 26. The plow C comprises a pair of inclined members 27 and 28 which flare backwardly from a medial point or prow 29,

as shown in FIG. 4, for the purpose of impaling open the side flaps 10 and 11 and rear end flap 12 of the cases D after the operator has lifted the front or leading flap 13 thereof -by hand if a manual flap opening operation is utilized. It is also to be noted that the plow C may be removed if an automatic flap opening device (not shown) is used. A slotted bracket 30 suspends the plow C from a boom 31 whereby adjustment of height above the conveyor B may be made by a bolt 32 to accommodate for cases of various heights. A flap restrainer 33 extends longitudinally from the rear of the plow C to preclude jamming of the machine as might be caused by inward convergence of the case flaps 10, 11, 12, and 13 toward one another after they have once been opened. See FIGS. 4 and 5.

Intermediate the section lines 5-5 and 6 6 of FIG. l is a restrainer extension 34 having a medial bend and thereafter sloping gently downwardly into the initial power driven portion of the machine. Spaced wing guides 35 longitudinally extend with the extension 34 and initiate the means for urging the side flaps 10 and 11 into a position substantially parallel to the bottom of the case D.

Referring to FIG. 6, the cases roll down the gravity conveyor B where they communicate 4with the flight bar conveyor E and abut up against a spring stop I. The flight bar conveyor comprises a plurality of longitudinally spaced tow bars or pushers 36 laterally extending intermediate flight chains 37 and 38. The chains 37 and 38 are sprocketed to the ends of a cylindrical roller 39 journaled within the frame side plates 20 and 21, the upper level of the roller 39 being substantially co-planar with the upper surface defined by the rollers 23. The axial spacing between the spring loaded stop J and the roller 39 is greater than the length of one case but less than two cases so that only cases which are synchronized may enter the machine in proper timed sequence as will be rnore fully described hereinafter. As is also shown in FIG. 6, a pair of side rails 40 and 41 inwardly extend from side plates 20 and 21 respectively, the inboard ends of the side rails being spaced from each other by the width of one case. The initial portions of the rails 40 and 41 are curled downwardly at 40A and 41A respectively and the lateral subsequent portions are in the same plane as the rails follow about the inversion loop in a semi-circular or arcuate path. It is also to be observed that the spacing between the inboard ends of the rails 40 and 41 is adjustable to accommodate for various case widths while the spacing of the rails below the restrainer extension 34 controls and limits the outward divergence of the case side flaps 1f) and 11.

Referring to FIG, 7, the spring loaded stop I comprises a pair of levers 42 pivoted at 43 and urged by springs 44 to project into the path of travel of the cases D. Thus, a case D cannot enter the machine of its own weight alone but requires deliberate forward impetus as provided by a tow bar 36 to carry it past the tension of the spring levers 42. As has been set forth hereinbefore, the spring stop J is positioned behind the roller 39 a distance between one and two cases, thereby causing a particular tow bar 36 to slide under the second case D aligned with the stop I, and only engage the trailing wall of the first case against the stop. Immediately subsequent to the stop in FIG. 7, can be seen peripheral rails 4S and 46, extending as prongs from the arcuate guideway G.

Referring now to FIG, 8, the flight bar conveyor E carries the cases D in longitudinally spaced orientation about the arcuate guideway G wherein spaced peripheral rail extensions 45A and 46A define the exterior periphery by slidably abutting the bottom Wall of the cases. As seen in FIG. l, the guideway G is adjustable with respect to the inner race defined by the conveyor belt F. That is, the guideway G is pivotally secured at 48 at the lower portion of the frame A continuous with the fixed peripheral rails 45 and 46, and the upper portion of the guideway G is slidably adjusted within a slot 49 within the frame A. A bolt 50 determines the fixed position of the guideway G from the inner race to accommodate cases of different heights and insured abutment thereof against the conveyor belt F during inversion. Such an arrangement precludes shifting of the contents of the cases D during inversion and furthermore maintains the outwardly divergent position of the front and rear flaps 12 and 13. Arcuate extensions 40B and 41B of the flap guide rails 40 and 41 respectively limit the outward divergence of the side flaps 1t) and 11 through the inversion loop, and it is to be noted that the spacing between the rails 40, 41 and the interior wing guides 35 has begun to diminish as controlled by progressively smaller lateral posts 51. The conveyor F comprises a belt 52 which defines the inner race of the inversion loop whose interior arcuate path is oriented by rollers 53 journaled within plate members 54 and 55.

Referring back to FIG. l, the belt 52 initiates its arcuate path about an idler roller 56 driven from a drum roller 58 which is itself turned by a chain 59 from a speed reducer drive unit 60. Following the line of direction of travel of the belt 52 at the upper periphery of its inversion loop, the belt S2 dips downwardly about an idler 61, is tangentially carried thereabout, then upwardly about an idler 62 to detine a break at the initial horizontal portion of travel for purposes as will be more fully described hereinafter. The belt 52 then proceeds horizontally in the boom 31 about an end roller 63, returning at the bottom of the boom downwardly about idlers 64 and take-up roller 6:5".

The flight bar conveyor E is driven at substantially the same lineal speed as the conveyor belt F and its path through the arcuate inversion loop is intermediate the conveyor belt F and the guideway G as dened by sprockets 66. This path is so chosen as to maintain a controlled pushing force for all sizes of cases within the range of adjustment of the machine with no additional adjustment. The motivating means for the liight 'bar conveyor E is by way of a chain 68 about the drum roller 53 and a pulley 69. The path of the pusher conveyor E follows through the re-inversion loop about sprockets "iii, with the same function as in the lower inversion loop, dropping ott at exit sprocket 71 and then following an exterior path to complete its orbit about idler sprockets 72. Take-up sprockets 73 adjacent the pulley sprocket 69 adjust tension upon the iiight chains 37 and 38.

Referring now to FIG. 9 with additional reference to FlG. l, it is to be observed that as the conveyor belt F has begun its horizontal path of travel, the guide wings 35 have chanfed in direction from an arcuate path into an inclined path tangential to the conveyor belt F immediately prior to the roller 62. At the same time the arcuate configuration of the flap guide rails 40B and 41B have begun to converge toward the wings 35 until the spacing therebetween has become substantially equal to the thickness ofthe case side liaps 16 and 11. As is shown in FlG. 1G, and with further reference to FIG. 9, it can be seen that a stainless steel wear or stiiener plate 75 has been mounted in the boom immediately below the belt 52- and upon which the belt rests during travel thereover. A series of permanent magnets 76 and 7-8 with their poles positioned upwardly are mounted upon soft iron tracks 76A and '78A respectively whereby the magnetic field will extend upwardly through the non-magnetic stainless steel plate 75 and exert an attracting force upon cans 1S contained within the inverted cases D. Thus, as the cases D are drawn gently upwardly with their flaps 10 and 1l. trapped between the wings 35 and the rails 46B, 41B, the cans by their own weight and aided by magnetic attraction slidably gravitate toward the belt 52. The diverging path of travel of the cans 15 and the cases D is perfectly smooth, continuous and gentle as they separate since the forward lineal speed ot the belt conveyor F and the ight bar conveyor E are identical. Thus, the containers inside the case D will not crowd the forward or rear part of the case as the latter is pushed along a divergent inclined path.

Referring now to FG. l0, it can easily be seen that the case D is suspended entirely by the side flaps l@ and 11 thereof between straight ap rail extension 40C, 41C and straight wing extensions 35B, 35C respectively to be carr-ied up by the Hight bar conveyor E in a manner analogous to a ramp. rThe cans 15 now freely rest upon the belt 52 to be transported horizontally along the boom 31 and thereafter Iagainst side rails 80 to be suitably directed or conveyed to filling equipment at a later portion of the production line.

As is demonstrated in FIGS. l0 and ll, the cases D are carried up the ramp with the side tlap 1l) heldv between the rail extension 40C and wing 35B and the flap 11 between rail extension 41C and wing 35C with no other support therefor. The front ap 13 of each case is allowed to dangle hingedly at the point immediately prior tothe section line 11-11 of FlG. l, and continues to hang freely until it abuts against tuck rollers 82 centrally disposed in the path of travel thereof. The rollers $2 eliminate any flap control problems further along in the upper ire-inversion loop. It is to be observed that the tucking of the front llap 13 backwardly cannot interfere with the cans 15 leaving on the horizontal portion of the belt conveyor F since the arc described by `the outer edge of the front flap at this point is above the cans. See the position of the discharged cans in FIG. l.

Hinged on the rod 83 upon which the tuck rollers 82 are rotatably supponted are peripheral rails 34 and 85 of the re-inversion guideway H. Extending from the rails 84 and 8S are ears 84A and SSA which are secured to the rod S3. The upper portion of the guideway H is adjustably secured within slots 36 in a man-ner similar to that of the lower inversion guideway G toy accommodate for cases of diierent heights. Prongs 84B and 85B extend forwardly from the rails 84 and 85 respectively and are so spaced from the end of rail extensions 40C and 41C that the `leading edge of the case front wall (in inverted position) will be scooped-into the yarcuate path' defined by guideway H. The back liapl 12 of each case will likewise be tucked back by the tuck rollers 82 when abutting thereagainst so that jamming within the reinversion loop will be eliminated.

Arcuate wings 35D and 35E which are extensions of the respective straight wings 35B and 35C are secured to rods S3 `and 88 medially extending between the side frame members 20 Iand 21 and are in sagittal alignment with the re-inversion guideway H. The guideway l-I` controls the peripheral orbit of the upper leading and trailing edges of the case proper whereas the arcuate wings 35D and 35E control the maximum peripheral orbit of the side flaps 10 and 11.

Side guides 90 and 91 mounted on pegs 92 maintain the lateral positioning of the cases D during their longitudinal travel through the rei-inversion loop. The side guides 90 and 91 `are shaped to handle all variations in case height for the range of the unloader with no further `adjustment other than the guideway H. The edges 96A and 91A of the side guides define the interiorfmost orbit of the case side fiaps 10 and 11 respectively. A pair of lightweight sheaves 94 and 95 are aiiixed to a shaft 96 freely and rotatably supported intermediate the s-ide rame members 2i) and 21. The outer periphery of the sheaves which may be rubber-tired determine the inner periphery of the case bottom wall during re-inversion. A comb track member 97 having an arcuate portion 97A intermediate and on the same radius as the sheaves scoops the cases thererom preparatory to discharge fromv the machine. The cases D then exit from the unloader and are discharged upon ya gravity ramp conveyor 98 having side rails 99 whereby the cases now in upright position may later be `loaded with filled and sealed containers. Y

As has been evident from the foregoing description,y

the cases are carried up ythe ramp and held entirely by their tlaps 10 and 11 after having gently unloaded the cans 1S upon the horizon-tal portion of the conveyor belt F. If glass bottles or the like were thevcase contents rather than cans, ist would be common practice in the industry to employ a nested type separator to prevent the glass bottles kfrom jarring directly `against one another with consequent chipping [and breakage. However, it is easily seen that such a separator, particularly of the egg crate construction type, would be unloaded with the case contents themselves if provisions were not made to accommodate therefor. Moreover, tray type cases or cases no-t having side flaps could not ordinarily be conveyed up the ramp. Y

Accordingly, we provide a break in the belt conveyor F between the last roller 53 and roller 62k immediately above idler 61 yas shown in FIG. 1. A dead plate or delector pad assembly K ismounted within the break as standard construction in ourcase unloader yto permit rapid interchange from runs with cases having can contents to use with cases employing vnested type separators or cases Without side flaps. f

acarrea;

The dellector pad assembly K comprises a dead plate 101 having beveled edges 101A and 101B and a smooth upper face. The dead plate 101 is detaehably secured to a tie bar 102 aflixed between plate members 54 and 55 whereby the beveled edges insure a flat, continuous smooth t of the upper face with the belt 52. Suitable mounting bolts or screws extending through aligned holes in the plate 101 and the tie bar 102 provide the means for quick change-over from the deilector pad assembly K, as shown in FIG. 14, used on cases with flaps and without separators, to a forked rail assembly K1 for use with cases having separators therein.

Finally referring to FIG. 13, the forked rail assembly K1 comprises a pad 100 with beveled edges 100A and 100B and having slots 103 and 104 in the upper face thereof in which the tines of a pair of forked rails 105 and 106 are permanently secured. Yokes 105B and 106B are secured to the rearward ends of the respective rails 105 and 106, and a cross Irod 107 integrates the ends of the rails distal to the pad 100. It is also to be noted that holes in the pad 100 are laterally spaced to register with the holes in the tie bar 102 for interchanging of the rail assembly K1 and the dead plate assembly K.

Thus, where it is desired to use the unloader for runs on cases having no separators, the deilector pad assembly K with the smooth dead plate 101 -will be bolted to the tie bar 102. As the cases complete their peripheral path about the inversion loop, the front tlap 13 of each case will abut upon the face of the plate 101 and then slide thereover. It should be observed that it is generally impractical to use the rail assembly K1 for non-nested cans since the fork tines may engage upon the flanges of closely packed cans and preclude their unloading at all.

However, where cases with separators are being unloaded, the dead plate K is removed from the tie bar 102 and the forked rail assembly substituted therefor. The yokes 105B and 106B of the rail assembly K1 are mounted upon the rod 83 outboard of the ears 84A and 85A. Thus, the upper and trailing edges of the cases, now in inverted position, will be carried up the forks 105 and 106, and the forks will retain the separators within the cases by engagement thereof intermediate adjacent longitudinally stacked bottles.

Note should be made that bottles and crown type cans are stacked upside down in the cases to `be inverted right side up upon the belt 52 preparatory to filling.

As is apparent from the foregoing description, our machine will automatically unload all standard size bottles, jars, jugs and steel or aluminum cans and deposit them from shipping cartons with or without flaps, from l tray type cases or from nested separator cases, gently and in an upright position upon a conveyor ready for filling. The machine will handle up to 50 cases per minute and changeover from cans to bottles can be made by one man in less than five minutes. The motion is simple, continuous and purely mechanical without requiring any infeed training. After the contents have been unloaded, no unscrambler is needed. Switching from cases of one dimension to another can be accomplished by adjusting of the guideways G and H to accommodate for height, and lateral positioning of the side rails to accommodate for case width.

Although our invention has been described in considerable detail, such description is intended as being illustrative rather than limiting, since the invention may be variously embodied, and the scope of the invention is to be determined as claimed.

We claim:

l. In a case unloading machine, the combination comprising:

endless ilight bar means,

means to constrain said endless flight bar means to movement in a generally S-shaped path in which it travels through a lower inversion arc, through an intermediate incline, through an upper reinversion 8 are, and then through a return path exterior of said generally S-shaped path to said lower inversion arc, case guide means paralleling said endless ight bar means through said lower inversion arc at the outside thereof, additional case guide means paralleling said endless tlight bar means through said upper reinversion arc at the outside thereof,

case lifting means disposed beneath said endless flight bar means and extending through said intermediate incline,

an endless conveyor belt,

means to constrain a section of said conveyor belt to movement in which it travels through an arcuate path extending through substantially degrees at the inside of said endless flight bar means within said lower inversion arc with the upper terminus of said section approximately at that point in said generally S-shaped path in which the endless ight bar means moves from the lower inversion arc into said intermediate incline, and

additional means to constrain a second section of said endless conveyor belt for movement in a path in which it extends horizontally from said terminus and then through a return path to the first mentioned section thereof.

2. In the combination as set forth in claim 1, case conveyor means for delivering cases to said endless ight bar means disposed below said endless conveyor belt, and additional. case conveyor means for receiving cases from said endless tlight bar means disposed above the return path of said flight bar means.

3. In the combination as set forth in claim l in which drive means are provided to drive said endless flight bar means and said endless conveyor belt means at the same rate of lineal speed.

4. In a case unloading machine, the combination comprising:

endless ight bar means,

means to constrain said endless flight bar means to movement in a generally S-shaped path in which it travels through a lower inversion arc, through an intermediate incline, through an upper reinversion arc, I and then through a return path exterior of said generally S-shaped path to said lower inversion arc, downwardly inclined case conveyor means for delivering cases to said endless llight bar means at the lower end of said lower inversion arc, case guide means paralleling said endless flight bar means through said lower inversion arc at the outside thereof,

case lifting means disposed beneath said endless flight bar means and extending through said intermediate incline,

additional case guide means paralleling said endless ilight bar means through said upper reinversion arc at the outside thereof,

downwardly inclined case conveyor means at the upper end of said upper reinversion arc to receive cases,

an endless conveyor belt,

means to constrain a section of said conveyor belt to movement in which it travels'through an arcuate path extending through substantially 90 degrees at the inside of said endless flight bar means within said lower inversion arc with the upper terminus of said section approximately at that point in said generally S- shaped path yin which the endless flight bar means moves from the lower inversion arc into said intermediate incline,

additional `means to constrain a second section of said endless conveyor belt for movement in a path in which it extends horizontally from said terminus and then through a return path to the first mentioned section thereof,

and means to drive said conveyor belt and said endless ight bar means at the same rate of lineal speed.

move in a generally S-shaped path in -which it travels through a lower inversion arc terminating at the lower end of said inclined guide ways through an intermediate section in which it travels substantially parallel to said inclined guide ways and through an upper reinversion arc starting at the upper terminus of said inclined lguide ways, and then through a return path exterior of said generally S-shaped path to said lower inversion arc,

case guide means paralleling saidA endless iiight bar means through said lower inversion arc at the outside thereof,

an endless conveyor belt,

means to constrain a section of said endlss conveyor belt to movement within a path in which it travels through an arcuate path extending through substantially 90 degrees at the inside of -said endless ight bar means Within said lower `inversion arc with Said section terminating at the lower end of said inclined guide ways, and

additional means to constrain a second section of said endless conveyor belt for movement in a path which starts at the lower end of said inclined guide Ways and extends horizontally beneath said inclined guide ways and then through a return path to the firstY mentioned section thereof.

References Cited in the tile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,843,995 Thompson T. Feb. 9, 1932 1,945,758 Turner Feb. 6, 1934 2,815,140 Dice Dec. 3, 1957 2,925,185 Candido Feb. 16, 1960 2,948,425 Copping Aug. 9, 1960 

